


To New Beginnings

by wafflesandkruge



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: F/M, Gen, Post-Canon, could be read as platonic if that's what you prefer, inesper
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:14:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24729541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wafflesandkruge/pseuds/wafflesandkruge
Summary: Inej returns to Ketterdam after a year at sea, and is ready to leave in disappointment yet again. But an old friend shows up to stow away on her ship, and who's she to say no?
Relationships: Jesper Fahey & Inej Ghafa, Jesper Fahey/Inej Ghafa
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	To New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zemenipearls (ayaanle)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ayaanle/gifts).



> A gift for @zemenipearls bc I'm very late on another fic for her but my mind had an idea and here we are. 
> 
> Can be read as completely platonical if that's what floats your boat!

Inej squinted at the dim Ketterdam sun, taking a break from helping her crew load up  _ The Wraith _ for another long voyage. She hadn’t wanted to dock here, not really. It had been almost a year since she’d left for the first time, but it seemed nothing had changed. Or rather,  _ nobody _ had changed. She made a noise of frustration and picked up the crate she’d been carrying again. At least they’d be on the sea before dark.

She brought the crate to the hold, nodding to the crew members she passed. There were almost thirty of them now, men and women from all corners of the world who’d felt compelled to join her crew. Each one had proved themselves multiple times in battle, and Inej was proud to fight alongside each and every one of them. 

Deppa, her first mate, came up from behind Inej as she finished tying down the crate. “Last bit of paperwork before we leave, captain. The Council of Tides needs to have our docking and leaving documented, per usual.”

Inej scanned the page Deppa offered before scrawling her name on the bottom. “Anything else?”

“No, captain. We’re good to go as soon as I get Penny to run this to their watchtower.”

Inej nodded, biting her lip. Why did she feel disappointed when she was also so eager to leave? She kept hoping, illogically, that someone would ask her to stay. That someone would want her near and be happy when she was.

“Alright. Have Penny do that. I’ll do one last check, then we can raise the gangplank and be on our way.” 

Deppa left Inej in the hold, where she let herself mope for a moment or two. She was leaving, maybe for good this time. That was that. She told herself she was glad to be rid of Ketterdam, of its constant stench of sewer water and fish. Glad to be rid of the monsters lurking around every corner.

“Hey!” a masculine voice shouted from above deck. There were a few muffled thuds, the sounds of bodies hitting the deck. Inej snatched a knife from her belt and ran upstairs. Maybe she would have a reason to stay, after all.

Instead of some horrifying scene involving blood and hostages, she found an old friend being wrangled to his knees by two of her crew members. Jesper Fahey shot her a trademark grin. “Hey, Inej. Think I can stow away on your ship?”

* * *

Night was quickly falling, but Jesper didn’t mind the cold wind that slipped through his coat. It was bracing, a reminder that he was _ here.  _ He’d missed the taste of adventure for months now, and being able to taste it again made him forget his troubles. Of which there were many.

As if sensing his thoughts, the captain herself appeared beside him at the railing. She’d grown a little since he’d last seen her. She looked like the fearsome pirate queens from his childhood history books. A tricorn hat was perched on her head at a jaunty angle, a crow’s feather stuck in the brim. He quirked his lips at that. 

“Captain Ghafa. It suits you.”

“Thank you. I see you’ve purchased a new wardrobe for this trip,” Inej teased, gesturing at his new coat. Jesper spun, showing off the rich colors. 

“You like it? I’m sure I can have one made for you too.”

She laughed. She seemed to do that more around her crew than she’d ever done in Ketterdam. “I’m good, Jes.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence. The creaking of wood and the splash of waves against the hull were all the conversation they needed. Or at least it was until Inej spoke. 

“Why are you here?”

Jesper mustered up a grin. “I can’t visit my oldest friend?”

“It’s not that,” she continued. A peculiar look crossed her face and she rubbed at the scar on her forearm. A new habit. “I thought things were going well for you in Ketterdam.”

Jesper sighed. “They were. They were.”

“Then why-”

“I wasn’t...happy. It all seemed great at first…” Jesper hesitated. He’d never told anybody about this, not Nina, not Kaz, and certainly not Wylan. But Inej was a good listener. She of all people would understand. “I don’t think it’s for me. Living in a big house, having people wait on me. I need to be doing things, whether that be a farm, or a heist, or a pirate ship. And I don’t think I can do that in Ketterdam anymore.”

It felt like a burden had been lifted off his chest to finally admit that to someone else. He’d been feeling guilty for months, like he was the universe’s most selfish person for not being able to settle down in his new life. But Inej looked at him without an ounce of judgement. “I understand,” she said quietly. “There’s nothing left for me in Ketterdam either.”

Jesper blinked. “Kaz-”

Inej shook her head, strands of her hair obscuring her eyes. “I’m tired of waiting for someone who’s not waiting for me.”

The two of them stared across the sea, processing each other’s words. Inej’s quiet understanding was something Jesper had sorely missed in the year she’d been gone. He tentatively held a hand out, palm up. In the dim light from the ship’s lanterns, he could just make out the lines of his Dregs tattoo. He guessed he’d have to get it removed now.

After a moment’s hesitation, Inej put her hand on top of his, calloused palm against calloused palm, tattoo against tattoo. They stayed that way for what felt like hours, just watching the stars and appreciating each other’s presence. 

“It’s a long way to Novyi Zem. You should get some rest,” Inej reminded him. She untangled her hand from his and adjusted her hat. She noticed his gaze.

“I’ll get you a pirate hat too.”


End file.
